HOUSTON – In wake of the controversy surrounding an 18-year-old student at Barbers Hill High School who was suspended a second time for refusing to change his hairstyle, KPRC 2 is shedding light on the importance of natural hairstyles and the effects these disciplinary actions may have on people of color.
Darryl George was sent back to in-school suspension again on Tuesday for 13 days after attending an alternative for weeks because his hair was not in compliance when let down, according to a disciplinary notice from the school located in Mont Belvieu, Texas. It was his first day back at the school after spending a month at the off-site disciplinary program.
George was first pulled from his classroom in August after school officials said his braided locs fell below his eyebrows and ear lobes and violated the district’s dress code. His family argued the punishment violates the CROWN Act, which became law in Texas in September and is supposed to prohibit race-based hair discrimination. The school argued that the CROWN Act does not address hair length.
In a candid interview, Digital Content Producer Erica Ponder spoke with Assignment Desk Editor Amber Baylor about her 10-year-old son Devin Mitchell, who started his loc journey in 2018. Devin, who enjoys playing basketball, skateboarding, and singing, was 5 years old when he fell in love with the hairstyle after realizing that it resembled his uncle’s.
Here is more on his experience:
Q. What was the deciding factor for locing Devin’s hair?
A. “Our hair is different textures, and so in the beginning, I was twisting it for a curl pattern texture-wise and so in the process of me twisting it, I would section it off as you would do twists or individual plats. One day, he let the plats stay in and he was like, ‘Oh, I have dreads like Uncle Chris!’ That was his exact words. And I said, ‘Well no, you don’t have dreads,’ and he said, ‘Well, I want to start some. I want dreads.’ And I thought about it because I thought about what people were viewing young Black boy with dreads like at the moment, but I decided to let him go on and start them and he was 5 years old, in Kindergarten.”
Q. What is the cultural importance of having locs?
A. “The importance to me is the individuality. Any type of look, any type of identity change that you have, that’s you as an individual wanting to look like you want to look. Also, the strength- in Biblical terms, your hair was your strength, especially when it came to Samson. His hair was his strength and so I also tell my son, ‘Your hair is your strength. Don’t worry about what anybody else says. That is your individual look and that’s your strength. Also, in the Black culture, healthy hair is your natural hair. Yes, it’s guided and twisted but that is your healthy, natural hair.”
Q. How have his locs helped build his confidence?
A. “You’ve got to meet this boy! He is too confident, ok? Too confident. He makes sure he has his edge-up and he makes sure that it’s twisted. He sometimes even likes his hair to be seen in free form, so sometimes you might not see the scalp or the parts, so I feel like it’s building his confidence because he knows that he has that individuality to him. Now, more of the students are doing it. More of his friends are doing it. Last year, he had a friend that started his locs and his mom was asking, ‘How do I do it? What products do I put on it?’ He’s already a 100% leader and I believe that this has just made him even more confident as a person.”
Q. Has anyone ever racially profiled your son because of his hair?
A. “I feel like you’re profiled without even knowing, without it being said or spoken on. I know he was in second grade and he had a teacher who was of a different culture and race, and he does have a learning disability, so I was telling her about that. We saw her at ‘meet the teacher’ and she was kind of being standoff-ish but when you get to know him as an individual, it’s like, ‘Ok.’ At first, it was like, ‘I don’t want to even deal with him,’ and I don’t know if it was because of her and her position as a teacher with having a student with a learning disability as well as, you know, the look on top of that. I feel like we are in a well-diverse area and I do appreciate that, and also those that don’t know, they do ask, that is the time that we are in, and so I do appreciate that as well.”
Q. What are your thoughts on the CROWN Act, and what does it mean to you and your son?
A. “I feel like the CROWN Act brought comfort. It brought comfort, but it saddened me as well because we are still fighting for equality and to be equal to everyone that has different cultures and they look different when we are in America, where there’s so many different cultures and diversity. But I do feel that the CROWN Act brought a lot of comfort, not only to my son but to myself as being an African American woman who wears braids and wears my hair natural, and you can take that one thing off the list, like worrying about, ‘Should I get my hair straightened, which may damage my hair, to fit in?’”
Q. How do Darryl George’s suspensions and overall case make you feel as a parent?
A. “As a parent, it brings fear because right now or even two years ago when he was 8 and his locs were cheek-length, my son’s locs are already to his shoulders. And so it brings fear to me knowing that my cute 10-year-old is going to one day be a 17-year-old ‘threat’ to individuals just because of the individuality of his hair, and so that’s what’s very scary as a parent, and then do I sit him down and say, ‘Hey, let’s just cut it’ and give in? Or do I say ‘Hey, you stand up and fight for what you want to stand up and fight for?’ And it shouldn’t even be a fight because it’s your individuality. It’s your look. It’s your culture. It’s your roots if we all look back on it, but as a parent, it brings fear to me with all of that.”
Q. Why is it important for schools and even companies to be knowledgeable about Black hair and styles?
A. “I feel like the more you know, the more you respect. One of my son’s best friends is Indian and he celebrates Ramadan. And so when it came to that, my son was like, ‘Oh, I can’t call Zion at this time because he’s praying.’ He told him about it, they talked about it he respected it. And so I feel like if you know, ‘Ok, this individual wears his hair like this because of this reasoning,’ you respect. The more you are knowledgeable about things, you respect it and I feel like we respect certain cultures and certain people, but others, we feel like they should bow down.”
Q. How can schools become more knowledgeable about Black hair and culture?
A. “It’s a part of history now. Of course, we have the CROWN Act and so they have to explain that. I feel like it’s a part of history. Write it in the history books. We write history every day and the time that we’re in right now, history is being written every day. Do your research, talk about it, and once you know, you respect. Nobody is asking for everyone to be your friend and your bestie, but we are asking for respect and respect goes a long way.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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